Pandan Valley seeks record $2.6b en bloc asking price

Each owner could receive nearly $4.2 million on average if the sale goes through.

The Pandan Valley condominium has established a new record for Singapore’s highest asking price in a collective sale, after its residents voted to set the reserve price at $2.6 billion during a meeting on Saturday (8 Sept), reported TODAYOnline.

Each unit owner would pocket nearly $4.2 million on average if they succeed in selling the 623-unit development, which sits on freehold land spanning about 865,000 sq ft.

The previous record was the $2.48 billion reserve price set for Mandarin Gardens, which is currently gathering signatures of at least 80 percent of the owners to proceed with the collective sale. The 99-year leasehold project comprises a total of 1,006 units and has a land area of 1,073,226 sq ft.

Farrer Court currently holds the record for the most expensive successful en bloc sale. The 838,488 sq ft site was purchased by a CapitaLand-led consortium in 2007, and was subsequently redeveloped into the d’Leedon, a 99-year leasehold condominium with a total of 1,715 units.

During the Extraordinary General Meeting (EOGM) on Saturday, there were more than 300 residents of Pandan Valley in attendance, accounting for 40 percent of the development’s total share value.

More than 60 percent of those present voted to set the reserve price at $2.6 billion, 11 percent chose $2.86 billion, while 8.0 percent sought a higher selling price of $3 billion.

Pandan Valley’s collective sale committee will conduct a third EOGM by November to vote on how the proceeds from the sale will be distributed prior to gathering signatures from the owners.

While experts are divided on whether the $2.6 billion asking price is reasonable, Savills Singapore’s research head Alan Cheong believes the price was set high to get the owners to consent to the collective sale.

Such an amount is still high for property developers to bite, especially given the new curbs noted analysts.

“Developers are being picky… They will consider several sites before going for the kill,” said Chris International director Chris Koh, adding that Pandan Valley residents should be ready to receive offers below their reserve price.

“At $2.6 billion, I don’t think one single developer will bid for something so big… In a way, it’s putting a lot of eggs in one basket,” added ZACD Group executive director Nicholas Mak.